Bad Blood

In a secret meeting, as the Pythia, you accept a diamond for ordering Master Five’s death. A senior Master offers to handle the threat in Gaither, but you assert control, stating that you have the situation handled and that an acolyte has already begun a third kill. The Masters confer, and you make it clear that you direct the acolytes’ work, foreshadowing another murder tied to the FBI’s pursuit.

After Kane’s confession, Cassie regroups with the team. Celine and Sterling question whether a child could have committed the Kyle murders, and Dean suggests reexamining the original files. Sloane analyzes the forensics on the targets and, based on wound angles and attacker height, rules out both a child and a left-handed adult. She concludes that the grandfather, Malcolm Lowell, stabbed himself, forcing the team to reassess the murders.

The team goes to Malcolm Lowell’s house and finds it empty. Working from Sloane’s conclusion, they deduce that Lowell murdered his own family as a lesson for Mason Kyle, whom he was grooming. In the basement, Sloane finds a concealed space in which the Masters’ symbol is etched into the floor. Cassie recalls lore about the Masters’ structure and recognizes that Lowell’s history aligns with their hierarchy. She realizes that Malcolm Lowell is Master Nine, the leader who ensures the cult’s continuity.

Cassie goes to inform Agent Sterling that Lowell is Nine, but overhears Director Sterling ordering his daughter off the case. He mentions a third body and asks if she told Cassie. Cassie confronts them, and Sterling confirms that the third target is someone Cassie knows personally. Cassie tries to call her family, but her phone is dead, turning the warning into a sharp threat.

The Masters punish you for letting Nine’s identity surface. They chain and burn you in a ritual purification. Afterward, Laurel appears and calls for her mother. Lorelai’s consciousness strains to surface, but your Pythia persona holds control. Laurel studies you, insisting that you aren’t her mother, and you reply that Lorelai is gone.

At a diner in Gaither, Cassie learns that the third target is her cousin, Kate. Before leaving, she tells Ree Simon that her daughter, Sarah, died years ago. Ree reacts with contained emotion and serves coffee to Cassie and her team. Moments later, they all become ill. As Cassie collapses, Ree catches her, reveals herself as a Master, and whispers that everyone must be tested.

Cassie wakes, immobilized, in an underground chamber, and Ree stands over her. Ree explains that Lowell recruited her and that she’s the poison Master who trained Nightshade. A hooded figure enters: Geoffrey, a university teaching assistant from a previous case and the Masters’ new apprentice. Geoffrey admits that he committed the three recent murders, including Kate’s. Ree stops him from testing Cassie further and instead spreads a burning poison paste on her neck.

Two days later, Cassie wakes in a hospital room, where Director Sterling says her team survived because someone administered an antidote. He explains that a tampered tracker led him to her. He then cuffs her to the bed and reveals he belongs to the Masters. He admits to arranging Nightshade’s murder as payback for killing an ally, confirms that the Masters recaptured Laurel, and taunts Cassie that her mother makes an ideal Pythia. The rescue becomes a controlled handoff to her enemy.

You reflect on ordering Cassie’s capture as Malcolm Lowell enters. He outlines the brutal tests that he intends for Laurel, who will one day replace him, culminating in a rite that requires a child to kill her own mother. He confirms that he completed this rite himself. He then sets your own test: You must kill Cassie while Laurel watches.

Hooded escorts take Cassie to an underground arena, where the Masters watch. A hooded figure steps into the ring and reveals herself as Cassie’s mother, Lorelai. They embrace, and Cassie sees scars covering Lorelai’s body. Without warning, Lorelai seizes her, presses a knife to her throat, and states that one of them must die. Ree, Malcolm, and Director Sterling observe from the stands.

Cassie realizes that she faces not her mother but her mother’s “alter,” or alternate identity. She profiles her as Cassandra, the dissociative identity that Lorelai developed to endure her father’s abuse. Cassandra names herself and explains her purpose. Cassie refuses to fight, dropping her weapon and saying she’ll die for her mother. The refusal destabilizes Cassandra’s control, and Lorelai’s true personality breaks through. They complete a shared promise and stand together.

They reunite briefly before Malcolm and Director Sterling demand that the ritual continue. Director Sterling drags Laurel into the arena, holds a knife to her throat, and cuts her to force compliance. Lorelai insists that Cassie must kill her to save Laurel. Cassie refuses, but Lorelai takes her hand and guides the knife into her own chest. Agent Briggs and the FBI breach the arena as Lorelai collapses, dying in Cassie’s arms.

While the FBI secures the scene, Director Sterling seizes Laurel again. Cassie challenges him, citing the Masters’ rules against killing children. Agent Sterling fires and kills her father to save Laurel. He falls dead, and Laurel kneels, touches his blood, and recites the ritual formula to claim the blood for the Pythia and for Nine, revealing how deeply she has been indoctrinated.

In a medical staging area, Agent Sterling steadies Cassie and Laurel. The team forces its way past officers to reach them. Dean holds Cassie and tells her she’s a survivor. Celine explains that they found them after she noticed a family resemblance between Laurel and Agent Sterling in a photo. Sterling and Cassie understand that this makes Laurel Sterling’s half-sister. Briggs confirms that they tracked Director Sterling to the arena and shares a quiet moment with his agent.

Three weeks later, Cassie buries her mother in Colorado, surrounded by family. Six Masters are in custody; Malcolm Lowell, Director Sterling, and Geoffrey are dead. Cassie’s grandmother takes custody of Laurel. Agent Briggs, now the FBI Director, announces that the Naturals will transfer to Denver and become an official, paid task force. He approves of Cassie’s suggestion to recruit other gifted teens, and they prepare for what comes next.